climate change effects in wetland areas and how these indicators may be applied in
monitoring (short and long term) for management purposes (Ostrowska 2010;
Heink and Kowarik 2010b; Ostrowska and Sienkiewicz 2011). It was found that
changes in peat soils, including, in particular, changes in the contents of carbon and
nitrogen and their water soluble forms as well as in soil solution concentrations, are
correlated with the dynamics of precipitation and temperature over several decades.
6.2 Criteria to Select Indicators for Monitoring
Climate Change Effects on Habitats
Climate change leads to a variety of effects in habitats including changes in water and
nutrient circulation, soil quality and community structure and functions. This diversity
of effects results in a diversity of assessment situations and requires many procedures
and indicators whose performance can be directly associated with climate change over
time. Over the last several years a variety of ecological indicators have been developed
to document the status and changes in environmental quality. Ecological indicators
include both site-specific, field-derived metrics and landscape-level properties (Tiner
2004; Stratmann et al. 2011). An extensive literature review made under the HABITCHANGE project yielded comprehensive lists of selected applicable indicators
addressing climate change-induced effects in various habitats, based on hydrological,
soil, botanical, plant sociological, zoological and climatologic metrics (Fo ¨rster
et al. 2010; Vohland et al. 2011; Stratmann et al. 2011).
The indicators vary from simple ones indicating changes in climate such as
temperature, water balance, snow cover and water deficit, to indices of land cover
derived from remote sensing at landscape and regional scales to the site specific
indicators of climate change effects which have been developed based on field study
and measurements. Remote sensing detection tools for natural resource managers in
the context of climate change are discussed in Chap. 7. Here we focus on site-specific
indicators that rely on environmental properties which are most sensitive to climate
change and are helpful in qualifying and simplifying the complex phenomena of
habitat changes. These changes are typically due to multiple stresses; therefore the
effect of an individual stressor such as climate change cannot be easily separated
from that of other pressures. The difficulty in selecting such purpose-oriented indicators arises from the dynamics of natural processes and of local environmental
conditions (Dahl 2012).
The practical criteria for selecting appropriate indicators should be related to such
qualities as their capacity to inform about complex changes in habitats and landscapes, to supply reliable information on the status and trends and, at the same time,
to allow for quantification of the intensity of changes. As indicators have double
function: to supply information and to support management decisions, they also need
validation against their utility to the end-users. Management decisions in protected
areas concern mainly the maintenance of favourable status of specific habitats and
6 Indicators for Monitoring Climate Change-Induced Effects on Habitats. . .
79
monitoring (short and long term) for management purposes (Ostrowska 2010;
Heink and Kowarik 2010b; Ostrowska and Sienkiewicz 2011). It was found that
changes in peat soils, including, in particular, changes in the contents of carbon and
nitrogen and their water soluble forms as well as in soil solution concentrations, are
correlated with the dynamics of precipitation and temperature over several decades.
6.2 Criteria to Select Indicators for Monitoring
Climate Change Effects on Habitats
Climate change leads to a variety of effects in habitats including changes in water and
nutrient circulation, soil quality and community structure and functions. This diversity
of effects results in a diversity of assessment situations and requires many procedures
and indicators whose performance can be directly associated with climate change over
time. Over the last several years a variety of ecological indicators have been developed
to document the status and changes in environmental quality. Ecological indicators
include both site-specific, field-derived metrics and landscape-level properties (Tiner
2004; Stratmann et al. 2011). An extensive literature review made under the HABITCHANGE project yielded comprehensive lists of selected applicable indicators
addressing climate change-induced effects in various habitats, based on hydrological,
soil, botanical, plant sociological, zoological and climatologic metrics (Fo ¨rster
et al. 2010; Vohland et al. 2011; Stratmann et al. 2011).
The indicators vary from simple ones indicating changes in climate such as
temperature, water balance, snow cover and water deficit, to indices of land cover
derived from remote sensing at landscape and regional scales to the site specific
indicators of climate change effects which have been developed based on field study
and measurements. Remote sensing detection tools for natural resource managers in
the context of climate change are discussed in Chap. 7. Here we focus on site-specific
indicators that rely on environmental properties which are most sensitive to climate
change and are helpful in qualifying and simplifying the complex phenomena of
habitat changes. These changes are typically due to multiple stresses; therefore the
effect of an individual stressor such as climate change cannot be easily separated
from that of other pressures. The difficulty in selecting such purpose-oriented indicators arises from the dynamics of natural processes and of local environmental
conditions (Dahl 2012).
The practical criteria for selecting appropriate indicators should be related to such
qualities as their capacity to inform about complex changes in habitats and landscapes, to supply reliable information on the status and trends and, at the same time,
to allow for quantification of the intensity of changes. As indicators have double
function: to supply information and to support management decisions, they also need
validation against their utility to the end-users. Management decisions in protected
areas concern mainly the maintenance of favourable status of specific habitats and
6 Indicators for Monitoring Climate Change-Induced Effects on Habitats. . .
79